DIY Royal Icing Transfers with a Stencil

Royal icing transfers are one of my favorite decorating tools. I like them because they are easy to make and even easier use. I have not made any to share with you lately because, well, I got a new computer. I do not have access to the program that I used to make them in the past but, I think I have found one that is affordable and user friendly. In the meantime, I have a few transfers to share that weren’t made on the computer. Did you know that you can make DIY royal icing transfers with a stencil?

Easy DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made from a Stencil www.thebearfootbaker.com

They say that “necessity is the mother of invention” and I have to agree. When I get desperate, I get creative. When I get creative, I do things like use stencils to make cute royal icing transfers. And thanks to Hillary over at The Cookie Countess there are many, many cute stencils we can use to DIY royal icing transfers. Today we have sleigh transfers and later this week, I will add a few more from her stencil designs.  Thank Hillary for making life easier!

Supplies for DIY Royal Icing Transfers made with a Stencil:

Sleigh Stencil from The Cookie Countess
Yellow 15 Second Icing
Red 15 Second Icing
Airbrush System or a pencil
Masking Tape
Wax Paper
Piece of paper to copy the stencil pattern

Easy DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil with www.thebearfootbaker.comTo begin, head over to The Cookie Countess and buy yourself some cookie stencils that you think would make really cute royal icing transfers. Today, we will make a sleigh.

Simple DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil www.thebearfootbaker.comThere are a few ways to use the stencil to make a royal icing transfer pattern. The first is to airbrush the pattern onto a piece of paper. I like parchment paper because I can cut to the size I need to fit over the back of my baking sheet. Move the stencil and airbrush the sleigh in rows onto the paper. The airbrush color will remain wet for a few minutes so start in the upper left corner, move to the upper right corner, and then move to the lower left corner so you don’t have to wait for the color to dry. By the time you make the center pattern on the top row, the upper left and right sleighs should be dry.

If you don’t have an airbrush system, just use a pencil to draw inside the stencil. Easy!Easy DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil with thebearfootbaker.comNext, tape the pattern to the back of a baking sheet using masking tape.
Then, cover it by taping wax paper over the entire pattern. Make sure there aren’t any wrinkles or it could mess up your sleigh.
Pipe all of the rails on the sleigh with yellow or brown icing. If you want them to be a little shiny, you can airbrush them like in the picture above.
Let the icing dry overnight before you outline and flood the sleigh with the red icing. Let it dry completely. I let these dry for about 2 days to make sure they were completely dry.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil by thebearfootbaker.comBefore you remove the sleighs from the wax paper, you can airbrush the bottom side of the sleighs with brown airbrush color.

Simple DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil via www.thebearfootbaker.comThis is the easiest royal icing pattern I have ever made. And look at those cute sleigh royal icing transfers.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil by www.thebearfootbaker.comSince the rail on the sleigh is a bit delicate, cut the wax paper around the squares so you can focus on removing one at a time without worrying about breaking others in the process.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil with thebearfootbaker.comNow another favorite tool, the bench scraper. It makes removing royal icing transfers simple since it has a nice edge and it fits in your hand.
Slowly slide the wax paper under the bench scraper while allowing the transfer to slide off of the side. You will probably have a few that break and it is alright. Always make extra when planning to use transfers.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil with www.thebearfootbaker.comAs the transfers eases off the wax paper and bench scraper, use your hand to support it so it doesn’t fall on the table and break.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil via thebearfootbaker.comI always test my transfers on a naked cookie to see where I want to place it and how it will look before I make a big old mess when decorating. This one fits nicely.

DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Cookie Stencil www.thebearfootbaker.comNext, outline and flood your cookie. While the icing is wet, drop the DIY royal icing transfer into place.Easy DIY Royal Icing Transfers that are made with a Stencil via www.thebearfootbaker.comI love the airbrushed sleigh with the chocolate cookie and the simple white icing. It worked well with this set of cookies for Santa.

I really like using stencils for patterns. It is fast, fun and there are a lot of options to choose from. I need to go now and look through all of my stencils to see how many royal icing transfers I can make.

More Christmas Cookies and Royal Icing Transfers:
Simple Owl Cookies
Simple Reindeer Cookies
Polar Bear Cookies
I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Cookies

Merry Christmas,

Lisa